“Crisci Ranni” translated from Sicilian means: “grow strong, become great”. That is, growing in values, wisdom and humanity. A tradition and a wish that Caritas of Noto has taken literally, so much so that it has made it the title of a 360-degree educational project that has involved thousands of children, adolescents and young people from 2010 to today. The Caritas of the baroque town in eastern Sicily, whose diocese also includes the equally beautiful Modica, has taken up and re-proposed the ancient collective rite of Easter Saturday, in which fathers raise their children to the sky shouting this very wish – “Crisci Ranni” – while the church bells ring in celebration. The project continues all year round and includes, in collaboration with schools, study support, meetings with psychotherapists and other experts on topics of great interest to young people, training courses for educators and during the summer the Grest, the heart of the project, which this year will involve 200/250 children aged 4 to 13 for a month and a half. In addition to Modica, which hosts the Grest in a public park recovered from decay in the Vignazza area, similar experiences have been opened in Ispica, Scicli, Noto, Avola. This summer the Grest will take place from 20 June to 3 August, with around a hundred young educators (high school and university students) who are currently participating in a training course. All at very popular prices, to allow anyone to enjoy the experience. For those who cannot afford even the symbolic fee, Caritas provides.
“Sicily. Permanent center of gravity”. The central theme around which the meetings with witnesses, workshops, group games, trips to the seaside and sport will revolve will be “Sicily. Permanent center of gravity”. “We will present characters such as the writer Andrea Camilleri or the singer-songwriter Rosa Balistreri, who have carried Sicilianity forward in the world and have made us proud of this belonging – he tells SIR Cristian Modica, among the managers of Crisci Ranni -. We will make a connection with the fact of living in the South, seen not only as a limitation but as a resource, depending on how you experience it.” The activities will mainly be games, workshops, sports, music, singing, meetings with parents, from morning to evening, in collaboration with the Casa dell’Arca of Modica. “The volunteer educators will give us a hand – he continues -. A parallel Grest will be dedicated to them at the beginning of September, totally free, to spend a summer time in a generative and productive way. What is important is being together, the relationship, which can make us better and can be a tool for everyone’s growth and involvement. We care deeply about the fact that teenagers can be the big brothers and sisters of the children we meet. We also want to give families the tools to discuss parenting, with all the pros and difficulties of this historical period. And it is also an opportunity to meet diversity.”
The stories of integration are many and beautiful. Over time, Crisci Ranni has also acquired a value of inclusion and integration of immigrants present in the area, including unaccompanied migrants living in communities. Last year they had guys from Ukraine, some Albanians and all of North Africa and some from South America and Africa (Gambia and Senegal). Among the many beautiful stories of integration is that of Nuha, 25 years old, fled Gambia alone and still a minor. He participated in Grest at the age of 17, when he lived in the community. He formed such strong bonds with the children of Grest that when he left the community, upon turning 18, he burst into tears. He didn’t want to go to another town or city, perhaps to another region. He didn’t want to have to start all over again. Caritas supported him. He now lives alone in an apartment and works as an assistant chef in a starred restaurant. A family took him to heart, considering him like a son. A group of people even went to Gambia to meet family members. “Nuha is always available and fully integrated – he tells SIR Fabio Sammito, director of Caritas Noto -. During the Grest experience no differences are perceived between foreigners and Italians. The focus on reception and integration is an important part of our work. Many of those who participate, Italians and foreigners, return over the years to volunteer as educators.” This happened for Sara, Mohammed and who knows how many others. The summer camp was “the hooking point”.
Collaboration with the community for migrant minors, which currently houses 17 teenagers, is crucial. This summer, about ten kids will participate in the activities. “When they arrive in Italy they experience loneliness, they are in difficulty because they don’t know Italian, they can’t work – explains Sammito -. With us they are able to form strong bonds and experience the possibility of feeling useful, equal to their peers”.
Crisci Ranni is an educational site that attracts young people to ecclesial activities in a highly innovative way. “Young people often don’t find the space in parishes to express themselves or they don’t know the Church at all. There is the risk that they will remain totally outside the ecclesial world. Instead they are an unexplored richness that we must be able to grasp, using their languages. We imagined a different place where kids can experience commitment and service and at the same time express themselves freely and fully.” Every year, among students, educators, children, adolescents and university students, Caritas of Noto manages to involve at least 350 young people. An exemplary case in which the Sicilian Church leads with its good practices.
